Have you ever noticed how if you track what you do, it can actually affect what you end up doing? For instance, if you write down every single thing you eat, even if you have no specific diet or plan you’re trying to follow, there’s a good chance you may eat slightly differently than if there was no record at all. The same thing can happen with money. If you track every expenditure you make–even if you don’t have or use a budget–this practice in itself can still have an impact on your spending habits. Regardless of the action, logging it can often help regulate it, even if there is no preset goal or plan in place.
Just the act of writing down the decisions we make causes us to be a little more aware of what we’re doing. Which in turn encourages us to ask ourselves, Do I really want to do this? Because as we record our actions, we’re also recording our choices, and implicitly assuming responsibility for them.
Of course, we’re responsible for what we choose to do, whether we record it or not. But keeping a log gives us that immediate reminder that this is the case. It also presents us with a snapshot of the choices we’ve been making. And even if we only track something for a short time period—say a few days to a few weeks—that in itself can be eye opening. It brings us face to face with the choices we’re actually making, not just how we remember them. And it’s this view of reality that can make quite a difference.